How to Improve Supply Chain Management

The efficient delivery of products and services hugely relies on proper supply chain management. A supply chain basically pertains to an establishment’s system of people, activities, and resources involved in the movement of goods or services from a supplier’s end to customer premises.

From such description, supply chain management can then be defined as the efficient handling of supply chain activities to address consumer needs and maintain a competitive advantage. Speaking of keeping an edge, here are some wise means to enhance this aspect of business operations:

1. Product and Consumer Segmentation – Dividing goods and customers into specific segments and tailoring supply chain solutions appropriate for each segment can help your firm eliminate unnecessary inventory and maximize on-shelf availability.

2. Process Integration – Integrating logistics and purchasing processes can allow a seamless delivery of products and services. This can be done by aligning the objectives and the operational goals of both functions.

3. Transparency and Information Sharing – The sharing of valuable operational data among the key players in the supply chain would greatly improve the whole process. Moreover, if information transparency is maintained, the flow of essential resources would be a lot better.

4. Talent Management – Making a supply chain function better would also depend on the proper management of all the people involved in the process. Enhancing the competencies of an organization’s workforce would hugely help in positively transforming the chain.

5. Virtual Integration – Tapping the help of outsourcing service providers can also provide a huge help in augmenting the capacity of a supply chain. Entrusting some key logistic functions to specialists would ultimately improve service levels and customer satisfaction.

Other smart initiatives companies can take to reinforce supply chain management efficiency include bettering driver-based metrics, carefully managing service demand, and exhausting the value-based management scheme.

Overall, it would make a huge difference for commercial establishments to work on improving all the aspects of its operations to drive more business success.

How to Manage Your Business Working from Home

While working from home certainly provides earners great convenience and ease, it may take some excellent techniques to be able to manage it well. So, if you have a business that you intend to manage from your own home, below are some pointers you can consider:

• Have a dedicated space. Home-based business management would tap into your organization skills. To be able to manage your venture well while at the comfort of your house, you would need a space or section that is solely dedicated for your business. True, you can work on your bed or living room but will you be able to completely focus?

• Invest in quality equipment. To ensure that your commercial endeavor runs well, it would be imperative to acquire some equipment that are of high quality. Some essentials may include a computer, a modem or router, a printer, and a LAN line.

• Create a business clock. Time is of the essence for any form of business. So, it is vital for you to be able to properly divide your hours between home-based business and your family. You can print out a daily time plan to match regular demands and make sure to stick to it.

• Take charge of finances well. Funding a business from home may not be an easy feat. Given that you are working from your house, you may find it challenging to separate your personal and business finances. Find a way to be able to set proper limits between the two. You can utilize online portals that cater to this particular purpose.

• Be on top of your business activities. Commit to your venture the way you would when you are in an actual business premise. Be sure to keep up with your business monitoring, compliance, marketing, and insurance requirements regularly. Keeping tab of the latest trends is also advisable as technology can change every single day.

Generally, all it takes are commitment, dedication, discipline, and positive outlook to ensure the resounding success of your home-based business management efforts. So what are you waiting for? Start your dream venture today and who knows you’ll be the next millionaire entrepreneur in the next year!

Social Media Marketing Used by Top Companies

Social media sites are now among the most widely used online communication platforms by consumers and businesses worldwide. With their prominence, business marketers now see them as valuable avenues to help organizations and commercial establishments gain more attention and ultimately, reap more success.

The well-renowned think tank L2 has recently conducted a study involving 247 top global brands. L2 analyzed the social media marketing activity of these prominent business entities across 15 social media platforms. Such study revealed these findings.

✓  Most of the top brands are actively using 5 to 9 social media platforms on average

✓  What remains to be the most prominent among these brands are Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube

✓  Also making strong marks are Pinterest, Instagram, and Vine (a fairly new platform)

✓  Visual platforms like Instagram register 25 times more engagement from online followers

From these findings, analysts are saying that moving forward companies would most likely tone down on their social media usage by picking which platforms give them better leverage. While social media used to be experimental, organizations would now work on finding their better point of variance.

Technique wise, a good number of Fortune 500 companies use social media to:

• Answer customer queries. Through social media sites, commercial organizations can respond to questions sent by consumers. This way they are able to address customer concerns or clarify matters of doubt about their products or services.

• Integrate content marketing with social media platforms. Companies put up different kinds of content across varying social media platforms. This is to adjust to the unique nature of each social media site and the specific language preferences of its users
  

• Know what competing businesses are doing on social media sites. These huge business entities are also able to find out what their key competitors are doing through social media. Being able to do so helps them stay at pace or even get ahead of the competition.

Other top global corporations are also tapping into social media marketing to find and attract new customers and to monitor the results of their marketing and retail efforts.

Start Up Business Loans

Sufficient funding is necessary to fuel any kind of business. So, if you are planning to start one, it is important to get the right amount to support your venture. In the event that what you have in your pocket would not suffice, it’s a go signal to start looking for financing options.

For such goal, start-up business loans are made available in a variety of types to complement your different needs. You can secure these kinds of financing from various sources which may include:

• Government agencies
• Banks
• Credit institutions
• Individual lenders

Given the options where you can secure the mentioned loan, it is important that you know how to make a good choice. To do this, give the following concerns some careful thought:

• Maximum Loanable Amount – Primarily, you would want to know how much amount you can possibly borrow from a particular source. This would help you determine whether or not that loan can cater to your business’ start-up financing needs.

• Repayment Term – You have to clarify the length of time that you would be given to settle the loanable amount.  Typically, there are loans that are supposed to be paid within six months to one year. Other lending institutions may allow longer periods.

• Interest Rate – Another crucial aspect to consider is the interest rate that a particular lender would put on top of your borrowed money. There are some credit providers who tend to impose excessively high interest rates. So, be sure to discuss this aspect with your lender.

•  Financial Capacity – Most importantly, it is crucial that you also assess your capability to pay up the said loan. You would not want to risk borrowing very large amounts that far exceeds your earning limit. Thus, it is imperative that you first check your income capacity.

If you are not well versed with these, you can tap the expertise of financial consultants. Essentially, you can choose from different loan arrangements such as secured, non-secured, and other types of start-up business loans. Which of them do you think is best for your requirements?

Starting a Business from Your Home

A lot of professionals today have found comfort in starting their own business from their very homes. Apart from the convenience that this set-up brings, it also gives earners the opportunity to spend more time with their loved ones while still getting the money they need. In fact, it can even be more lucrative compared to 9-5 jobs.

So, if you are also interested to venture into a home-based business, here are some crucial start-up steps you may find useful:

1. Decide on your product. Fundamental to any commercial endeavor is a product. You may want to choose by considering what you enjoy, what your skills are, and what you believe will give you good income.

2. Spot market gaps. Find trading areas that may not be as crowded as of the time being. This way you can enter the market without having to struggle with so many competitors. Also, it would make a difference to have a keen eye on industry trends.

3. Have a business plan. There is no need for you to go right down to all the complicated stuff like a detailed business projection and cost analysis. You can just write down the things that you are hoping to achieve and some simple action plans to help you get there.

4. Create your brand. Your brand would set you apart. So, as early as you now, you may want to begin visualizing your label. You can also come up with a simple start-up logo and a business tag line perhaps as little starting steps to successfully creating a strong brand.

5. Prepare your start-up funds. It is not really imperative to have a very huge amount to successfully launch a home-based business. A minimal to average budget would already do. But, to add to the money that you have, you may also want to check for financing options.

Other start-up essentials you may want to take care of are creating a website, spreading the word about your new business, and investing in software applications to help you monitor the progress of your venture.

Entrepreneurial Success: 5 Smart Trends for Small Business

Small business is the life blood of this country. Little companies are strewn all over our great land. They personalize our landscape and train our youth. Our teenagers learn respect, cleanliness, and how to treat customers. This is how our next generation establishes life lessons that will span into their adulthood. The passion to serve customers and make people happy, thrives in our little market places, and our small hardware stores. Being a fry cook at one of the local Drive In’s doesn’t mean you are a failure, you are learning the basics for many jobs to come. Not to mention some cooking techniques that you won’t get anywhere else and will come handy at home as well.

The point is, those little trends span into many places after the kids are gone. So teach them well.

Five Things to remember

• Treat your customers nicely. Respect goes a long way with anyone. Not every customer gets up on the right side of the bed, and knowing this will help when you meet Mr. or Mrs. Grouchy. Take them and help them with your best smile ever. Guide them through whatever section they need. Most of the time you can defuse a troubled customer just by caring for their needs and they will never forget. A lot of them lose their anger as you help and they become a bit ashamed of their own attitude.

• Keep your prices affordable. Having the highest prices in town only insures one thing will happen— end of the year sale and closing. So, find a percentage you can make a living on, keep restocking inventory, and retain the customers.

• Become socially active with your online store and your Facebook page. Use your Facebook page for advertising and making sales. Work with your customer’s curiosity and keep things new online, as well as in the store. A lot of folks don’t have an hour to browse for what they are after. Just like online, they want to get to the isle, get what they need, and move on with the day. So tickle their inquisitiveness, keep things quick, and help them find what they need.

• Be holiday fantastic! As the next holiday approaches, do something fun with it; whether it’s online, on the store front, or just dressing the part. Make every day fun where you work.

•Train your employee’s to be happy to see the customers. No matter what their home life is, they need to be handsomely dressed, clean shaven, hair designed and ready to greet the public. (Customers help make income.) Meaning, without the customers, your store closes. Even those ever growing, know it all teenagers. They need to know customer service from top to bottom and when they are approached, they should be able to answer questions or at the very least, help the customer locate someone that knows.

The front line

Most products come with a description of their item and how it works. That is what customer service is for. How many times have you left a store because the service was awful? How many times have you been able to find what you need faster than the customer service rep. could– because they didn’t care? Exactly the point and you know that they should have been trained better.

Preach this

Mary Kay Ash preached over and over to her consultants, “Imagine your customer has a sign on the front of her that says, ‘Make me feel important’.” That is how you take care of each and every one…. Always. Not everyone will buy into that, but if you do, you will never fail.

She had one more cool idea

She used a list everyday of her Mary Kay career. Choose six things that cannot be forgotten to be done the next day. As you complete them, mark them off. At the end of the day, whatever is left, place it on the list for the next day. Never more than six items, for six is the easiest to get done. If you follow that, with customer service that is beyond reproach, your recipe for success is under way.

Of course

Technology cannot be forgotten. Keep with the trends and stay on top of that. It can only help your business to save time and money.

There are so many idea’s

There are thousands of idea’s on the market to help you be successful with your business. Stay with the basic’s and grow, but keep those ideas alive. Never lose the beginning of your success and pass it on. As long as those stay alive in your business, your business will stay alive. The best of luck to you! 

Why Secure Deliveries Bring Businesses Together

If your company relies on a constant train of deliveries, either to customers or to other businesses, then a reliable and secure courier service is required. Without one then potential customers can be lost and your standing as a reputable company ruined.

Taking parcels to the post office every time a delivery needs to be made can bring about potential problems. For example, traffic could cause you to miss the close of opening hours or you may underestimate how much the delivery will cost and be unable to afford the payment. Whatever the reason may, the chance of a late or unsafe delivery should not be risked.

This becomes especially important if you’re dealing with other businesses on a regular basis. A professional standard must be set as this is what you’d expect yourself. Late deliveries or damaged goods are a cause of friction between some businesses in the UK and abroad.

A late delivery to a business can have a knock-on effect for both their output and customers also. If they have planned something around a certain delivery date and the goods don’t arrive on time, their reputation can be taken down and custom lost. They will place blame on you and perhaps even start legal action.

To combat this, an efficient courier service will be required to keep everything in order. There are many organisations online that can be compared in order to find the most commendable deal. The best couriers will offer:

–          Delivery of multiple items, 24 hours a day
–          Delivery of any item up to 30kg and 1.5 metres wide
–          Next-day delivery, with a pre-9am delivery option
–          Pick-up from any address
–          Delivery to any address in the UK and abroad
–          A fully tracked service, with photographic and GPS evidence if required
–          Insurance policies
–          A signature policy of arrival, providing peace of mind
–          Secure handling of goods

Secure deliveries bring businesses together as they generate a sense of trust and goodwill. If a business partner knows you can be relied upon to send items efficiently then they are also likely to keep using your service. Thus, a stronger sense of reliability is created on both sides which will only heighten the relationship.

So, when it comes to choosing a delivery service then consider all the options on the internet as well as the Royal Mail. Scour comparison to find the best deal for your circumstances, i.e. the amount of deliveries being made and how heavy the packages will be. For inter-business relationships, remember that a reliable courier will help build a solid relationship of trust and thus a more stable platform to make profit.

If you want more information on parcel delivery and courier advice, read any of these associated sites:

• Money Saving Expert Parcel Delivery Guide
• Rapid Parcel Couriers
• What is the best Parcel Delivery company?

3 Tips to Improve Direct-Mail Marketing Conversions for Your Business

If the opportunity to connect with potential customers one-on-one in a setting where they are relaxed and receptive sounds appealing, then direct-mail marketing may be a tactic you’re keen to explore. This method of advertising allows you the opportunity to communicate directly with consumers who may or may not know you exist, and might never consider your products or services otherwise. Sounds great, right? So why isn’t everyone doing it? Well, there is a bit of a catch. This blanket approach requires you to send out mailers to tons of households without necessarily knowing if the residents are in your target demographic or if they are even interested in what you have to offer. However, like any decent marketing strategy, you have to find ways to create interest with the materials you send out. And while you can definitely save some money over paper mailers these days by sending out emails (and reach a much larger audience, to boot), you still have to engineer your strategy so that it results in conversions, or some kind of positive response from recipients. Whether you opt to send emails or snail mail, you obviously want to do whatever you can to ensure your efforts don’t go straight to the trash. So here are just a few tips to improve your conversion rates.

1.  Generate leads. The carpet-bombing approach may not be your best bet when it comes to direct-mail marketing. Consider, for example, your efforts at search engine optimization. The goal is to get targeted traffic coming into your website because a consumer that is seeking your goods or services is far more valuable, in general, than the average accidental tourist. The same holds true with direct-mail marketing; when the recipient is already interested in what you have to offer, providing them with incentive of some kind, or even valuable knowledge can help to push them towards a purchase. So build up a mailing list through any means possible, even if you have to buy data from a reliable marketing research firm.

2.  Tailor your content. There are two important goals you need to hit when it comes to the content of your direct-mail efforts. For one thing, you need to select a layout and design that not only represents your brand image, but also appeals to the consumer public, or more specifically, your target demographics. However, you also need to make sure that your mailers include some kind of call to action. You want consumers to take immediate action and you need to think about what you can do to encourage them to at least keep reading or pull up your website, although a purchase is, of course, the ideal outcome.

3.  Track and analyze. The only way to improve is to see what you’re doing wrong and what’s working like gangbusters so you can tailor your future efforts for optimum conversion. In terms of real-world mailers, this could involve the use of a coupon or code of some sort or the inclusion of a QR code that consumers snap a pic of on their phone or tablet to get to a deal on your website. Online, a simple link will do the trick. The use of modern tracking methods can help you to see exactly what consumers are responding to so that the marketing funds you spend with a company like KD Mailing & Fulfillment will show a significant return on investment.

How to Start Your Own Crane Rental Business

Cranes are like the industrial dinosaurs of the 21st century – they hang over construction sites, looming, swiveling and lifting multi-ton items. Indeed, cranes are a vital part of the construction process – without cranes many buildings simply wouldn’t get built. However, simply remarking on cranes is one thing, but actually starting a crane rental business is another thing altogether. Some cranes have the capacity to lift over 20 tons, which means that the crane itself has to be heavier. Starting a crane rental business requires significant capital, knowledge of the market and a big insurance policy. Are you still ready to start your own rental crane business? Here is how to start your own crane rental business.

First, you need to survey the market. It also helps if you have been in the construction industry and if you have a finger on the pulse of the industry. When it comes down to it, it may only be smart to start a crane rental business if your community or city needs one. There may also be the case where your city or community already has a crane rental business that construction companies are not happy with. This is a great opportunity to jump in and take a corner of the market.

Also, it is important to have the capital you need to start a crane rental business. You will need at least a million dollars to start your crane rental business. If you think about it, there are many costs included in starting and running a crane rental business. For instance, you need insurance, space, employees and, of course, a fleet of cranes. So, it is important to meet with and strike deals with venture capitalists. These venture capitalists will be able to give you the money upfront in exchange for some kind of percentage in the company.

Next, you need to start building your crane fleet. What is a crane rental company without a fleet of cranes? Indeed, a crane rental business is not much without a fleet of quality cranes, which is why Bigge Crane and Rigging is probably the best dealer of large cranes for industrial and building purposes. When it comes down to it, you want to go with a name brand, because this will not only ensure that the cranes will last and that your investment was a wise one, but also because you want to offer construction companies quality cranes for their building purposes.

Lastly, you want to have your crane rental company insured. This is a crucial process of starting a crane rental company, because you want to be able to protect your business, assets and your worker’s livelihoods. It is very rare that anything should happen – mainly because of how safe and secure cranes are – but you always want to be safe and not sorry. When it comes down to it, it could be a crane operator’s fault if anything does happen, but the last thing you want is for your company to get blamed. So, be sure to take out a premium insurance policy – just so your company is totally protected.

5 Tips for Starting a Retail Food Business

Right now is an excellent time to get into the food and beverage industry. If you want to open a bakery, a delicatessen or even a natural health food market, you are primed to enter the industry at just the right time. However, when you are opening up a retail food business, you want to keep a few things in mind. Food – unlike clothing and other things you can buy at retail stores – is purely dictated by individual tastes. Basically, if the food you serve is not good, people won’t like it and they won’t be coming back to your establishment. Other than that, you have a number of other things your want to think about when you open a retail food business. Here are five tips for starting a retail food business.

1.  Nail down a specialty. These days, the market is run by cupcake shops and coffee houses. If you really want to find success and set yourself apart, you need to be different. You need to offer a dish or a delicacy that people haven’t tried before. If you think about it, many people have opened a coffee shop and realized that they are merely a dime a dozen. However, if you want to be that diamond in the rough that everyone clamors for, you need to offer something new and interesting.

2.  Perfect your recipe. This is where taste testers come in. In the beginning, your recipe for whatever type of food you are serving may be a little off. If you open your food retail business with a subpar product, you will be immediately doomed to failure. Word spreads fast about the quality of food at a new restaurant. So, you want to have people taste your food, give input and tell you what they do and don’t like.

3.  Sign up with the NGA. Signing up with the NGA, or National Grocers Association, is a smart move when you are opening a food retail business, especially a market. In fact, you can sign up for the MY National Grocers plan that offers member benefits and insider knowledge on the food industry. When it comes down to it, having your finger on the pulse is vital when you are opening a food retail business.

4.  Have excellent price points. Keeping your prices within a reasonable range is important. In order to do this, you need to evaluate what the average price is for the food you are serving or selling in your area. If your area is a little bit more well off, you may be able to sell items for more, but you want to be very careful. Even the very wealthy don’t want to pay an obscene fortune for food.

5.  Find affordable marketing solutions. Once your doors are open, you need to find a way to market your food retail business. Without having a solid marketing plan, you won’t get the kind of foot traffic you need to make sales. At the end of the day, with a little creativity and resourcefulness, you can easily launch a successful and affordable marketing plan.

5 Endpoint Security Best Practices for Businesses

As a business owner or authority figure in a time of cell phones, tablets, laptops and endless abilities to access technology, protecting your business, electronics, and sensitive data is more difficult and necessary than ever before. To ensure that your business is able to safely store data and the security of your company you must have a plan. Here are 5 endpoint security best practices for businesses that you should employ.

1.  First, ask around for recommendations. The best way to find a quality software and data protection program is to find out what your peers are currently using and how they like it. If they feel that the product is securing their facility, it may be something to look into further for your own IT needs.

2.  While choosing a product based on cost should not be your only concern, it is an important one. Always be aware of the bottom line. Do your research and shop around to ensure that there is not something else out there that can do the same thing as product A for a fraction of the cost. Be a savvy shopper and businessperson so that your investment will be worthwhile and affordable.

3.  Use central IT management for your business. When you update technology on-site, you are able to update devices more effectively, while also settling any potential security breaches much faster and in a more responsive manner. When you have a central plan, you can monitor endpoints and activity much more closely, ban sites and access capabilities that may be considered dangerous or irrelevant in the workplace, and require all devices to accept regular updates.

4.  Allow growth as needed. Sometimes you may initially purchase or integrate technology and devices into your company for one reason, but their use may evolve in the workplace. For example, maybe tablets may have originally been purchased just for picture taking capabilities and accessing the web. However, your employees may find them more useful for other tasks like writing, downloading documents, creating lists and more. Be open to these changes so that you do not stifle staff development and creativity.

5.  Always provide employees with ample technology education on a regular basis. Be sure to explain to your staff what it means to be safe and responsible on the Internet and while using technology to protect themselves and your company. Review security policies as well as which kinds of information are or are not to be shared via the computer. Keeping your employees well informed and educated can help you to avoid the majority of problems related to data loss and other security issues a business may experience in a proactive manner.

Endpoint security practices and products such as Pangea Systems, can help you to protect your business and your employees while providing you with confidence and peace of mind. While technology provides business with so many benefits, it can also cause many problems. Choosing to integrate these best practices for businesses into your IT plan will help you to reduce security threats or other losses dealing with technology and devices.

5 Benefits of Hiring a Professional Employer Organization for Your Business

As a business owner, you have so many different items to attend to on a daily basis. You are concerned about marketing, clients, customers, competition, finances, employees and so much more. Even with a strong Human Resources department, finding and managing competent, qualified employees for your business can be a challenge. Here are 5 benefits of hiring a professional employer organization for your business.

1.  Save time and energy as a business owner by hiring a Professional Employer Organization. PEO companies specialize in handling all of the responsibilities, from beginning to end, that come along with hiring individuals. Since they are experts, they can handle all aspects of the hiring process, giving you lots more time to focus your attention on other aspects of your business. You will no longer have to schedule interview on the phone or in person, worry about performance reviews or other details regarding employees. You can still stay in the loop by communicating with the PEO company frequently, but a lot of the time consuming work such as sifting through resumes will be covered for you.

2.  Reduce your legal liabilities with co-employment. When you hire a PEO company, they are actually employing your staff as well. This means some responsibilities such as payroll, taxes or workers compensation will be their responsibility, while other obligations regarding employees with be shared between your business and the PEO.

3.  PEO companies are great for small businesses. PEO’s actually prefer to work with small businesses typically with a maximum of 150 employees, but more commonly, the businesses they work with only have about 20 people employed. Using a PEO service enables small businesses to enjoy success since the PEO makes it possible for employees to receive benefits and insurance. The business would not be responsible for this, but the PEO would, and being a larger organization, it would be easier for a PEO to obtain these benefits and insurance policies for employees.

4.  PEO companies can help small businesses navigate both state and federal regulations. As a small business owner it is often difficult to keep up with changes and policies, however PEOs are on top of these items and stay current, helping your business to succeed. The PEO would also take a lot of the responsibility for these legal factors in regards to employees.

5.  Since the PEO has the right to hire employees, it also has the right to fire them. In some cases this is helpful, since it reduces the amount of unpleasant interactions a business owner has to deal with in regard to employees. On the down side, some small business owners may be irritated by this if there is an employee that is not working up to par. A business owner cannot simply fire this person, but must take additional steps to go through the PEO and receive approval which can take extra time and therefore money.

While a PEO can provide many benefits to your company, it is always important to review any and all terms ahead of time before deciding upon a legal business agreement. Once you find the right professional employer organization, you will enjoy less HR responsibilities, and reduced liability regarding employees.

5 Reasons Why Companies Prefer MBAs

Obtaining a master’s degree of business administration is no easy feat. It might not be quite as hard as a legal or medical degree (aside from the GMAT to get into an MBA program there are no major exams required to gain licensure or practice in your chosen career), but it still entails several additional years of post-graduate study to complete. And like any master’s program, in-depth knowledge of the subject matter and critical thinking are required to graduate, especially when it comes to completing a thesis or some kind of project for equivalent credit (depending on the demands of your program). Then, of course, there is specialization to consider. In short, getting an MBA proves that you’re made of sterner stuff than the average baccalaureate degree holder, and it makes you a more desirable candidate for hire. In fact, there are several reasons why companies prefer to hire MBA grads. Here are a few that might convince you to go for the gold in your pursuit of a business degree.

1.  Good base of knowledge. One of the best things about completing an MBA program is that it will indicate to prospective employers that you are adept (or at least informed) in multiple areas of business administration. The subjects you cover in some amount of depth could include management, human resources, production, PR, marketing, communications, finance/accounting, and any number of other facets involved in running a successful business. But what may appeal to companies even more is the fact that you’re schooled and likely skilled at using the latest programs and technology associated with business administration. For example, you may be trained to understand the ins and outs of social media marketing, something that many businesses are seeking help with these days.

2.  New ideas. There’s a reason why major corporations like to hire MBAs straight out of school: as a student you’re coming from an environment that encourages creativity and innovation, something that many businesses need in order to get the edge over their competition. Certainly experience is attractive, as well, but over time, those who fail to continue participating in the learning process will become stagnant, regurgitating the same old ideas. An infusion of fresh blood, especially employees that are qualified graduates, can help a company continue moving forward in an ever-changing consumer marketplace and a growing global economy.

3.  Proven dedication. Not everyone has the level of dedication needed to complete a master’s degree program. By earning your MBA you will prove to prospective employers that you have the motivation and integrity to stick with goals until they have been accomplished. This is important to many companies that don’t relish the prospect of training an employee only to lose him or her to corporate poachers.

4.  Management skills. Any kind of business administration duties will require some amount of delegation, which means you will likely end up managing a team of other employees sooner rather than later. An MBA program should prepare you for this eventuality. While many companies offer their own management training programs in-house, they’ll gladly take employees that are already prepared for the task.

5.  Self-direction. Whether you attend a top online MBA program or you graduate from Harvard Business School, you’re going to learn how to manage your time and complete projects on your own as part of your education. This is extremely valuable to employers, who aren’t going to want to hold your hand for long, or at all.

Cutting Startup Costs for Small Businesses

As a small business owner you may possess a groundbreaking idea, product, and the ambition for success, but financial acuity and awareness keys early profit. Considerable business owners overlook the critical step of outlining a very meticulous and detailed budget for startup costs, labor, and everything else that subtracts from potential profit and cash flow.

Entrepreneurs shouldn’t max out credit cards or dip into personal savings accounts to finance their business ventures. Instead, plan for the future, implement investments slowly, and detail every single business expense that ranges from coffee costs to purchasing laptops for employees.

When looking to found asuccessful small business, consider these suggestions to take control of finances and save every penny possible.

1. Stick to the Business Budget

Individuals live and die by their financial decisions. The choice to purchase tablets for employees or hire a new web developer may prove too costly and unwise. Success in the present market today relies a strict business budget, predicting possible financial growth, and adjusting without having to lose a solid core of employees.

The startup companies that don’t experience long term growth often go through drastic employee turnover and financial mismanagement. Something as simple as a detailed budget proves extremely valuable.

2. Save Money on Hardware with “BYOD” Work Place

Run a “Bring Your Own Device” (BYOD) work place. This policy saves substantial capital when estimating startup business costs. Hardware, even when purchased in bulk, costs money. Also, with technology consistently developing, changing, and becoming better, it’s tough investing considerable cash in quality equipment.

Why make that investment when you can allow employees to bring and work from their preferred devices. Whether they use PCs or Macs, the preference makes little difference in relation to work productivity and this policy encourages professionals to work from anywhere.

3. The Mobile Office

In the startup phase of your business, why waste money on office space rent, utilities, and maintenance costs? Forget about these finances and transportation when you run a mobile office. With the ability to share sensitive business information via the cloud, the mobile office functions well.

4. Rely on the Cloud

Don’t spend cash on physical storage, IT maintenance, and other costs when cloud storage is available. Plenty of cloud storage providers offer businesses scalable packages to save money and grow as your operation/client base expands.

Also, you can rest assured due to the fact that some of the best cloud providers protect your pertinent and sensitive information that’s shared between you and your employees. The cloud allows employees to access information from laptops, tablets, and even smartphones.

5. Seek Investors or Additional Financial Assistance

Spread the costs out by seeking additional financial help with investors or borrowing options. Choosing close friends, families, known business associates, or possible competitors/investors alleviates startup costs.

Short and long term loan options prove extremely useful for small business owners. A government back Small Business Administration (SBA) loan from a banking institution may provide the best route to finance your business.

It’s essential to know and explore every short term borrowing options that could benefit you in the critical startup stage. Any financial hiccup could prove costly to success. You may want to explore the benefits of payday loans, credit cards with higher limits, or even car title loans such as the ones atTitlebucks.com. If you own a vehicle, the quick cash loan acquired through signing over the title temporarily could keep your business afloat until larger client deals finalize.

5 Holiday Packaging Tips for Businesses

The holidays are not only a busy time of year for the individual trying to shop for gifts, plan holiday feasts, and hang decorations, but also for businesses scrambling to meet the demands of online orders and ship out packages that are going to arrive intact and on time for winter holidays. As a business owner, there’s almost nothing worse than getting a call from a dissatisfied customer because a gift ordered for a loved one didn’t arrive in time for the holidays, or worse, it was broken upon arrival. Even if you have some kind of return or exchange policy in place to cover such situations, you can’t undo the damage and give a buyer back the surprise that was spoiled. So it’s terribly important that you put extra care into packaging and shipping during the busy holiday season, especially since your boxes or envelopes may get crushed under the millions of other items being sent at this time of year. Here are a few packaging tips that should ensure your items arrive in ship shape and in time for the holidays.

1.  Talk to shipping agents. If you’re no expert at packing delicate items, you might want to talk to your shipping representative at the USPS, UPS, or FedEx to get some pointers on how to properly pack your goods for optimum safety. These professionals are skilled at packing a variety of items and they should be able to tell you exactly what you need to get the job done, including packing paper, Styrofoam peanuts, bubble wrap, or other types of filler. You may also want to create custom Styrofoam molds if you ship particularly delicate and expensive items.

2.  Call for pickup service. If you engage in a lot of shipping, or you see a significant uptick during the holiday season, you might want to arrange for daily pickup service to ensure that the packages you send out are processed and shipped same day. This will guarantee that your customers will get their orders with the greatest possible haste.

3.  Understand your options (and pass them along to buyers). If you want to offer the most options for shipping, you’ll need to set up accounts with UPS and FedEx. However, it’s important to understand the costs involved, as well as the benefits to be gained. These options can offer you faster shipping, easy tracking, and additional insurance, but they’re also going to cost a lot more than, say, regular mail or even priority shipping. However, you should definitely give your customers the options they want. If they’re willing to pay the cost you can put in the extra effort.

4.  Get insurance. It is imperative that you have proper insurance on your packages, just in case they are lost, stolen, or damaged in the shipping process. Since you’ll be on the hook to refund or replace the item for your customer, you want to make sure you get that money back from the responsible party, in this case your shipping agent.

5.  Pay the pros to pack for you. Whether you’re just too busy to package your own goods, you’re not sure how, or you keep ending up with damage complaints, you might want to pay a professional to do the job for you. Even with specialized packing materials from a supplier like Royco Packaging Inc. you may still have issues with your shipments if you fail to pack them correctly. So pay a little extra to ensure that your goods arrive in one piece.

5 Ways to Give Your Business a Social Media Makeover

If your business is not on at least three of the most popular social media platforms, your business is pretty much living in another era. When it comes down to it, social media can increase business and it can increase exposure. If you are in a niche industry, social media may be the only way for your business to compete in a very obscure market place. And if your business is on a few social media platforms, there is a good chance that you need to amp up your campaign for a new generation of social media savvy consumers. Here are five ways to give your business a social media makeover.

1.     Amp up your status updates. There is a statistic that says only about 15% of your status updates are read or shared, which means that when you add a new product or advertise a new service on your social media page, it probably goes unnoticed. So, you want to find a way to make your status updates more eye catching and interesting – mainly so people want to click on them.

2.     Add an ability for people to sign up for a newsletter. Many social media platforms offer you – the business – the ability to gather people’s email addresses, so that you can build up a newsletter. Sending out status updates is one thing, but when it comes to having a one on one interaction with consumers, you want to make sure that you send information in a more direct manner. Sending emails is far more direct and targeted than other methods of sending out information and you can often increase conversion rates this way.

3.     Offer a tool that people can use. One of the best ways to make your social media platform more successful is to offer your followers a tool that they can use. If you own a storefront with multiple franchises, you may be able to offer a tool that people can download on their smartphones that allows people to more easily find your franchises based on GPS coordinates. If you make the tool more useful and interesting, the more people will download it, which will certainly be good for business.

4.     Take a social media course or get your degree in social media. This may be an extreme way to give your business a social media makeover, but it can be incredibly successful if you want to get a better grasp on how social media can make your business more successful. If you want to find a great social media degree program, you may want to visit http://www.socialmediadegree.jou.ufl.edu to find out how you can start classes.

5.     Join a new social media platform. Sometimes all it takes is joining a brand new social media platform if you want to increase your business’ social media presence. When it comes down to it, there are numerous social media platforms that are gaining in popularity, so all you have to do is find one that works best for your business. Who knows, there could be a totally untapped resource that your business hasn’t tapped into yet.